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Hello, My name is Scott I am originally from the East Coast, (Philly region), and currently reside in the Southwest Colorado. I have missed good bread and Pizza since I left, (gain 10 Lbs. every visit home).

I am getting serious about trying to recreate the Pizza I grew up with, NY&NJ style chewy thincrust and Sicilian. My favorite thin crust is Longhitano's in Southampton, PA. They put the sauce on top of the cheese.

I've heard about all kinds of obstacles that exist here from water hardness and elevation, (@7,600 FT), to ingredient availability.

I am excited to find your forum and look forward to exploring and finding solutions for my cause. Thanks!

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buceriasdon

Welcome to the forum Scott. My move was the reverse of yours, I went from a mile high to sea level. I don't think you'll have to change much in recipes except possibly increasing the water to flour ratio because of the drier air and if you do extended ferments cutting back on the amount of yeast used as at higher altitudes the lower pressure equates to a more rapid yeast activity. You should experience good oven spring. I would use a recipe as is first and make small changes if deemed necessary. I don't use the local purified water, I use bottled mainly because the water here just tastes bad, very bad and I'm quite sure is very high in minerals. My reading on the subject of dissolved minerals in water leads me to believe some hardness is beneficial though. I sidestep the issue and use bottled water only from somewhere else.Don

Don,Thanks for the Welcome and the tips for adjusting to altitude. I'm just starting to experiment now to see what the best I can achieve here will be. Looking at possibly opening a place in the spring and want to come out of the gate on fire. It's been a frustrating journey.

Can you suggest which Yeast may perform best? I'm trying for a NY style dough and have tested only IDY using a convection oven which is all I have access to so far. (Planning on Blodgett or Bakers Pride Decks).

scott123

I'm curious, have you been to DeLorenzo's? If you have, how does it compare to Longhitano's?

The best resource for NY style at higher elevations is member Jackie Tran (Chau). He's in Albuquerque (5K feet). Take a look at some of his posts. If I recall correctly, he recommends around a 4% increase in water for areas with higher elevation on a typical NY style dough. If you're using high gluten bromated flour, that would put you in the 67-70% hydration realm. One thing to bear in mind when reading his posts is that he (and I) tend to prefer a faster baked NY style- 5ish minutes. With the right flour and correct amount of water, you can get a crispy thin crust pizza with beautiful oven spring in 5. The reason I bring up DeLorenzo's is that if Longhitano's is similar, it could be a longer bake- 8 maybe 9 minutes.

Don covered the water aspect well. Hard water, to a point, can be beneficial to pizza, although I think most members of this forum and most knowledgeable professionals will tell you that water doesn't matter much. For me, the only major potential concern with water is chlorine level. If it's heavily chlorinated, then you should probably be seeking out either bottled water or reverse osmosis.

If you have commercial aspirations, then you should seriously consider seeking out a professional grade flour. On the plus side, unlike your neighbors to the West, you should be far enough East to be able to use the same superior bromated flour that Longhitano's is using.

Another big plus is that, at elevation, you're able to achieve oven spring that members at lower elevation can occasionally struggle with. From that perspective, you might be able to put out something superior to Longhitano's.

Before you buy an oven, please talk to us. Most Blodgett's and Baker's Pride should be able to 8+ minute bakes, but if Longhitano's end up being shorter, or, if you aspire towards a shorter bake time for another reason, then you have to choose your oven a bit more carefully.

Thanks so much for all of the great advice! Appreciate everyones willingness to share their experiences, that should save alot of time and money.

Scott, Yes, DeLorenzo's on South Street, in Philly, with a line out the door most all day waiting for a slice bigger than the plate. As far as a comparison I was raised on Longhitano's so that has been my opinion of what a pizza should be. One thing I thought was cool is their use of this really thin spouted pitcher they spiral the sauce on top of the cheese with when they make a pie. DeLoenzo's was definately a favorite in the city. Still remember the cheese sliding off and burning my chin cause I couldn't wait.

Yeah, Longhitano's was a little thicker and chewy, however you could still fold it. Had a nice brown finish on the dough and underside, but wasn't shiney like some you see that are brushed with oil. You could still see, taste and feel the light flour dusting from the bench on it and the crust had a crunch to it. Also there would be some mild charring and occasional blisters.

I am heading back East at the end of October I'll get pics then, or see if I can call up an old buddy to take and send them to me.

The convection oven we are working with is a electric Vulcan, peak temp 500 degrees, two speed fan. A friend suggested testing in a conventional oven with no convection movement.

Getting together this weekend to try some formulations. Found a local pizza with a thin, chewy crust. It has a crunch to it but it's more chewy and tastes like a cracker. It has a charred bottom and a pale crust with golden edges and blistering throughout.

I will try attaching pics separately as I've composed this email 3 times with pics attached and gotten an error message that the file size was too large and lost the body of the message.